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Glossary of Firearms TermsHandgun Terms
A.Accidental Discharge:
An unintentional firing of the gun which is caused only bymechanical error. If mechanical error was not the cause, it is a negligent discharge.
See Also
: Negligent Discharge
Assault Weapon:
A political term with no fixed definition, being defined differently bydifferent groups in various jurisdictions. Because the actual definition is so fluid, lawswritten to regulate "assault weapons" often define the term by various cosmeticcharacteristics which do not affect the firearms' power or function in any fundamentalway. The term is distinct from the termassault rifle
 ,
which is a technical term with aspecific meaning widely accepted both in law and within the technical community.
Autoloader:
A semi-automatic pistol, shotgun, or rifle.
See Also:
Semi-Automatic
B.Backstrap:
A handgun term. The rearmost surface of the grip.
Battery:
Most firearms do not have literal batteries. But a firearm is said to be
in battery
when the breech is fully closed and locked, ready to fire. When the breech is open or unlocked, the gun is
out of battery
and no attempt should be made to fire it. A semi-automatic is
out of battery
when the slide fails to come all the way forward again after thegun has fired, making it dangerous or impossible to fire the next round. This conditioncan be created by a mis-feed, a dirty gun, weak springs, the shooter's thumbs brushingagainst the slide, riding the slide, or any of several other causes.
Beavertail:
On a 1911-style pistol, the curved piece of metal at the top of the grip which protects the user's hand from getting bitten by the hammer. It is nearly always the top partof the grip safety.
Bore:
The inside surface of the barrel.
Bore Axis:
An imaginary line which runs right down the center of the handgun's barreland out though the back end of the gun. The gun may have a high bore axis, with theimaginary line running out into space well above the shooter's hand. Or it may have a low bore axis, with the imaginary line running either straight through the shooter's hand or  just skimming the surface slightly above her hand. A high bore axis tends to create greater  perceived recoil and more muzzle flip when firing the gun than a low bore axis does.
 
Brass:
The most common material used for ammunition cases, so much so that you willoften hear people refer to 'picking up the brass' even when the empty cases they are goingto pick up are actually made of aluminum or steel.
Brass Magnet:
We all want one. But my scientific friends tell me it's impossible.
Bullet:
The solitary metal projectile which is flung downrange. When shooters refer tothe bullet, they mean only the projectile itself, not the complete package which holds the bullet before it is fired. The complete package, which includes the case, primer, powder,and bullet, is usually called a cartridge or a round.
Butt: Handguns
-- The base of the grip.On semi-automatic handguns, the magazine is inserted into a hollow magazine welllocated in the butt of the gun.
C.Cable Lock:
A short stretch of cable with a padlock at the end. It is threaded through theaction of the firearm.
Caliber:
The type and size of ammunition used by a given gun. It is commonlydesignated by a number which often (but
not 
always) refers to the actual diameter of the bullet. That number is sometimes followed by an abbreviation for the company or individual who developed the round, or which in some other way provides moreinformation than the number alone.
Cartridge:
The complete package which makes up a single round of ammunition. Itincludes the case, primer, powder, and bullet.
Case:
The metal (or, very occasionally, polymer) container which holds the primer, powder, and bullet together. Sometimes it is called the brass, because brass is thetraditional and still most common case material.
Centerfire:
Ammunition in which the primer is located in a small cup in the bottomcenter of the case.
Chamber:
The part of the gun which holds the round while the shot is being fired. Insemi-automatics, the chamber is located at the base of the barrel. Revolvers have multiplechambers, which are located in the cylinder. A firearm is said to be chambered inwhichever caliber it shoots. 'What's that chambered in?' means, 'What size ammunitiondoes it use?'
Chapman Stance:
 Named for Ray Chapman, this is a modified form of the Weaver stance. It is sometimes called a modified Weaver. The strong side elbow is held straight
 
and locked out, while the weak hand pulls back against the strong hand thus producingthe push-pull tension typical of the Weaver stance.
Clearing:
Unloading a gun, and double checking that it is unloaded.
Clearing:
Fixing a malfunction so that the gun is ready to fire again.
Clip:
A literal clip that holds fresh cartridges together, but does not feed them into thegun. It is not usually encased. Handguns, with a
very
few limited exceptions, do not haveclips; they have magazines.Using the word "clip" instead of "magazine" is one of the things that marks a new or uninformed shooter, and often drives experienced shooters right up the wall.
See Also
:Magazine.
Cock:
On hammer-fired guns, to retract the hammer so that it is in position to fallforward onto the firing pin, which will in turn strike the primer and fire the shot. If thefirearm has an external hammer, the gun may be cocked manually, by pulling the hammer  back with the thumb ("thumb cocking"). Some external hammers, and all internalhammers, may be cocked simply by pulling the trigger ("trigger cocking").
Concealed:
Hidden from view. A handgun is concealed when it is carried in such amanner that an observer cannot tell whether it is there or not.
See Also
:Printing.
Controlled Pair:
Two shots fired in rapid succession. It is distinguished from a doubletap because in a controlled pair, the second shot will be fired after the shooter hasobtained a second sight picture, whereas in a double tap both shots are fired based uponthe initial sight picture alone.
Cosmoline:
An icky, sticky substance in which most of the world's old military firearmswere bathed upon retirement, in order to prevent corrosion. Collectors of antique militaryfirearms spend a lot of time swapping recipes for getting the stuff out of the nooks andcrannies of their beloved old guns.
Cover Garment:
Any piece of clothing that covers the holstered gun. When the gun isworn on the belt, the most common types of cover garments are vests, sweaters, and jackets.
Cross-Dominant:
Sounds a little kinky, but don't worry. It just means a shooter who isright-handed but left-eyed, or left-handed and right-eyed.
Crosshairs:
The cross-shaped object seen in the center of a firearm scope. Its more- proper name is reticle.
Cylinder:
The part of a revolver which revolves. The cylinder contains 5, 6, or morechambers into which the ammunition is placed.
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